HelloFresh: Is It The Best Meal Delivery Service? Everything You Need To Know -

HelloFresh claims to offer “more meal variety,” “more flexibility,” “more flavor,” and “more satisfaction” than its competitors, but is it right for you?

I’ve been hearing excellent feedback about this food service, so I decided to give it a shot. I tried HelloFresh recipes without being prompted by the company.

In this candid HelloFresh review, I’ll delve into: Hello fresh meals, costs, recipes, whether the food lives up to the hype and other options available . What you’re about to read is fair and honest review.

About HelloFresh

HelloFresh is a meal kit delivery service that gives you fresh ingredients and simple recipe cards. Once you sign up and pick a day for your weekly delivery, you just check out the menu for the week, choose what you want, and wait for the tracking emails to come.

Here are the pricing options for each plan:

Classic Plan (for two people):

Three meals for $69
Four meals for $84.99
Five meals for $99

Family Plan (for four people):

Two meals for $79.95
Three meals for $105
This comes out to $8.75 per meal, per person

Veggie Plan:

For two people: Two meals for $59
For four people: Three meals for $109

How It Works

Choose Your Meal Plan: First off, you pick your meal plan and size. No matter what plan you go for, you can mix and match recipes from different plans.
Enter Payment Details and Select Meals: Once you’ve got your plan sorted, you enter your payment info and choose your meals for the first week.
Get Assigned a Delivery Day: You’ll be given a specific day each week when your meals will be delivered. Then it’s time to pick your meals.
Customize Your Meals: You’ve got some wiggle room here. You can opt out of certain ingredients like beef, pork, or seafood. Plus, you can switch up sides like broccoli or potatoes. These swaps might cost you a bit extra, though, around $0.99 to $1.99 per serving.
Manage Your Deliveries: Need to change your upcoming delivery or skip a week? No problem! Just log into your online account and make the adjustments. And if you decide HelloFresh isn’t for you, you can cancel your subscription through your account settings at least 5 days before your next delivery.

I Tried Three HelloFresh Meals: Here’s How It Went

A few years ago, I wouldn’t have called myself a kitchen pro. I could manage to cook basic meals, but most of the time, I either ate out or made simple chicken-and-veggies dinners at home.

Then, in February 2024, feeling tired of the same old routine, I decided to give HelloFresh a try. I ordered their Mexican Chicken and Garlic Rice, and American-Spiced Chicken Tenders. They charged me twice and I tried reaching out to customer service which proved futile. My parcels arrived at the time(s) indicated, with extra orders.

I like the idea and the fact you get an easy to follow recipe cards. However for me the food you get is not quite enough. Having 2 teenagers I have to buy the meal for 4 people.

Appears to be well priced but with all the add ons it gets expensive very quickly. More effort could be made with regards to sustainability e.g reuse boxes and insulated bags.

How Much Does It Cost

The meals cost between $9.99 and $11.49 per person for each meal. If you want to get the best price per serving, go for the biggest plan, which is 6 recipes a week for 4 people.

But most people go for the 3 recipes a week plan for 2 people. That comes out to about $9.99 per serving, or around $60 per week. Plus, you’ll have to tack on the shipping cost, which is $10.99 per box. To reach out Toto customer service reach out to them via 1-844-242-2169 or [email protected].

Downsides of HelloFresh

Cancellation headache: It’s a nightmare trying to cancel HelloFresh! I emailed them to cancel, one order when they double charged me but they just sent me a bunch of phone numbers. Even after canceling my card to stop the charges, they still keep emailing me with no way to reply. Their app doesn’t even have a simple “cancel” button—it’s like they don’t want you to leave.
Hit-or-Miss Customer Service and Limited Options: Hello fresh runs a terrible customer service. Lots of customer complaints I saw online is related to unresponsive customer services.
Limited selection: The meals were heavy on gluten and carbs, and there weren’t many choices for people who wanted something different. Also there weren’t enough vegetarian options, so people ended up with the same meals over and over.
Unwanted Charges and No Refunds: Some customers were billed for weekly boxes they never agreed to. Even when they tried to stop the orders and get their money back, HelloFresh kept charging them and sending boxes.

Customer Complaints

Customer service is horrendous! Never honoured the deal/voucher I signed up with despite repeated contact with them and promises to add it on to my account. I asked for an email or address so I could raise an official complaint in writing and was told they dont have one. It’s a shame because on the whole the food was mostly really good.

The first delivery came fine, but subsequent deliveris did not turn out so well. Ingredients were damaged and the recipe cards were missing. I have tried cancelling Four times in the last week. I was told I would get a cancellation email, but that never arrived. However, the unwanted did arrive and I was charged for this. The website is not clear at all regarding it cancellation and complaints procedure. So BEWARE! I will be chasing them for my refunds!

Very confusing website – hard to find what you want and not clear. Almost impossible to find your account settings and the cynic in me wonders if this is deliberate. Despite the fact I thought I’d delayed my delivery a week, I ended up being charged for a delivery I didn’t want and food I couldn’t eat (I’m vegetarian and they sent sausages!). Customer Services very unhelpful. Real shame because the food is good and it’s a great idea,

Pros

Has a great meal delivery service
They offer varieties of meal plans
Portion sizes are enormous and it had lovely flavours.

Cons

Too much packaging
You can’t cancel your subscription over the app
Issues with customer service
Most times they send out unhealthy ingredients and additives.

How Is HelloFresh Different? We Compared It Other Competitors

Hello fresh doesn’t stand out with a unique selling point like Gobble’s quick dinners or Dinnerly’s budget-friendly prices. Instead, it focuses on delivering excellence without any flashy gimmicks. The price per serving is pretty standard among major players at $9.95 and alternatives like Home Chef and Gobble I mentioned before.

Is HelloFresh Cheaper Than Groceries?

For me, Hello fresh isn’t exactly a money-saver compared to grocery shopping. Their meals cost around $9.99 to $11.99 per serving, which adds up to at least $48 for a box. I’m pretty savvy when it comes to grocery shopping, and I usually spend about $80 a week for me and my partner. If I added Home Chef meals to our menu, plus breakfast stuff, lunch items, and snacks from the store, my grocery bill would shoot way past $80. But if you’re used to splurging at fancy grocery stores or eating out a lot, Home Chef might actually save you some cash.

Would We Try It Again

For now, no. Don’t get me wrong HelloFresh is pretty useful for home delivery meal plans. But there are some areas they could improve especially with the experience I’ve had. It’d be great if they listed premium meals with extra costs together with the regular ones, making it easier to choose, fix their customer service and lots more. Ordering is straightforward, especially when there’s an option to add extras to a dish. While the food is generally tasty, it can be a bit annoying when you have to supply some ingredients yourself. And during holidays or vacations, it’s a bit of a hassle.

Similar food service: Cheapfoods.co.uk